Anger Managment

The year was 1996 the Denver Prince Hall football 11/12 year-olds were to face in a scrimmage the Prince Hall 13/14 year-olds. A certain small for his position middle linebacker named Gary Russell to face an overgrown RB head on. I was able to stop that running back when he came up the middle. I was able to successfully slow him down. I remember like it was yesterday, I was at the bottom of the pile on my back and when he got up he stomped his cleat on my face-mask. I’m new to this sport, I don’t know of the competitive nature of the gridiron, all I know is that its time. He’s committed a capitol offence and he has to go. My coach sees my little 11 year old self going after this boy and he stops me and says keep your composure, keep playing, get em on the next play. In other words he was telling me to control my anger, don’t let my anger control me.

Approximately 400,000 people in the world die from murder/homicide every year. Over 17,000 of those are Americans in the United States. And 9,000 of those were Black. Much can be said about the contributing factors about murder in the world in general and the all too familiar killings in our neighborhoods. Things ranging from poverty, racism, oppression and the like. But, the statistics show that even within the workings of those conditions there are three dominating motivations for murder: Robbery, Jealousy, Revenge. Then within these three motivations is an underlying emotion, anger. So, the primary reason murders happen is that people become angry enough to kill.

Disregards the Imago Dei (v.21)

The offensive act of murder is above all a disdain and disregard of the Image bearer. We are were created and still are in the image of God; to take a life is to do violence to the image of God. And this beginning is the initial disregard of the image bearer when someone gets so angry that they ignore the inherent value in our brother or sisters. Jesus is teaching a lesson greater than a simple rebuke of murder as an transgression of civil law, almost all nations in antiquity and now have laws against murder. But the sin of murder is a betrayal against God.

Imagine how different our lives would be if when we begin to get angry with someone we first pause and remember that although this person is wrong or has offended you they are still created in God’s image. It may not stop your anger, and many times you have the right to be angry but that never gives us the right to act out of anger to take a life.

This was the sin of Europeans that led them to steal millions of people from Africa…they missed the Image of God. (Run…them missed the image of God)

Dangerous to You (v.22)

Besides the disobedience to God, and besides the harm it may cause others, your “anger” is dangerous to you. These liabilities to the courts and judgments that Jesus list are less about judicial sentencing than they are about warning against the danger of increased levels of anger. Notice in the three dangers/liabilities Jesus gives that they get progressively worse. He starts with anger, then on to “Raca” (an insult), then finally, “you Fool”(cursing). From the onset the idea is that once you begin down the road from anger, if unchecked you will eventually begin name calling and insulting. They once the name calling and insults begin then come the swearing, and condemning. Once you get to that point is usually when people can come to blows. Lets not act like we don’t know that this is like.

The “angry with your brother without cause” is a big pill to swallow because the without cause isn’t saying “for no reason” its because your brother didn’t do anything worth being mad about. The reason you are mad is because something is wrong with you. There is a term used in psychology to explain this called “projection”. They are fine, but you project what is in you onto them and you see it an you get angry.

The real danger however is in the final assessment of this progression. If you allow yourself to get to the point where you can curse your brother or sister, you have come to a dangerous place where Jesus is saying you are not looking like on of mine. You are dangerously flirting with hell fire because my children shouldn’t behave like this. What you are showing in your uncontrolled anger is a likeness to the world and that is like playing with fire.

The difficult part about v.22 is that the person you are insulting isn’t mentioned in the punishment regardless of what made you angry. It doesn’t matter what THEY did, what matters is how YOU react.

I know we all have that person at work who gets on you last nerve. And if they say the wrong thing you are likely to go all the way off. But, you know that if they do, and you go off because you have a quick mouth, that you will be the one getting in trouble. Because you are the minority, because you are the woman, because you are new, because you are whatever…it’s your word against theirs and even if they get reprimanded you will be seen as the aggressor.

Now their is a time to speak up, there is a time to go off, but when you do make sure its impulsively out of anger.

Damages Relationships (v.23-26)

Jesus then bottom lines the issue. If “love the LORD your God will all your heart, mind, and strength” and “love your neighbor as yourself” Jesus now reaches the bottom line of the anger management considerations. Your anger can damage relationships.

Unresolved issues. He reminds them of their religious duty to worship the God they serve. But, he presses them past the ceremonial to the communal. First be reconciled to your brother! “…against you”? Uh-oh, we need to talk about it. What the text does not say is “you have something against them”, because we are not discussion forgiveness but our anger issues, if you remember that you have done something. We spend a lot of time discussing forgiveness and moving on and such, but we need to be honest we are guilty of needing forgiveness ourselves.

Your unresolved issues will lead to unfruitful worship. At the end of the day and of the sermon your worship will be ineffective once you come to terms with your issues. And not because you are unworthy, none of us are. It’s that you make yourself a hypocrite when you ask God to forgive you of an eternal transgression, but can’t apologize for a temporal offense to your neighbor. That you stand before God pleading for reconciliation but are OK with the hurt you caused someone else. You have to do our best to be right with our neighbor.

Here is the rub, if you wont get yourself together somebody else will. And if they don’t God will. Jesus gives a real life example of what can happen when our anger gets the best of us. But, I wonder to the possibility that Jesus isn’t alluding to something greater. You later in Matthew 18 Jesus tells the story of the unforgiving servant. And at the end of the the servant is thrown into prison until he can pay the debt but it’s really Jesus say of saying that if you can’t expect God’s forgiveness unless you are willing to also forgive others.

So Church, while you are on your way in this life, if would do you well to treat others right before you reach the judge.

The coach said, “keep your composure, keep playing, get em on the next play”. Well church, I couldn't I took my helmet off walked off the field and never played another game. But I’m so glad Jesus is not like me. The led him up the hill, like a lamb led to the slaughter but he never said a word. (Close)